Free museum shows and exhibits in New York City
Want to get a dose of art and culture without spending a penny? Head to one of these free museum shows.
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Free things to do in NYC: Your guide to gratis entertainment
Attention, art lovers! (Or people who occasionally view art! Or those who’d like to view more!) There are free museum shows happening in Chelsea and beyond every day. Find ’em below.
RECOMMENDED: Full list of free things to do in NYC
"Busted"
- Free
Ditch the stuffy museums and head to the High Line, where you can see a number of sculptures that riff on portraits and monuments, created by nine artists from around the world. Think Roman forum, but with a waft of humor and a contemporary spin. Works you’ll see among the benches and greenery include a bronze satyr, Colin Powell and a giant nose. Sculptors represented include Frank Benson, Steven Claydon, George Condo, Mark Grotjahn, Sean Landers, Goshka Macuga, Ruby Neri, Amalia Pica and Andra Ursuta.
- The High Line Washington St at Gansevoort St, to Tenth Ave at 30th St
- Fri May 24 - Wed Sep 18
"On Time/Grand Central at 100"
- Critics choice
- Free
MTA Arts for Transit and Urban Design curate this contemporary-art exhibit that celebrates the transit hub’s centennial. Artists tackle the theme of time, with pieces that include a video of a recent Improv Everywhere performance in the terminal, an installation of Grand Central ephemera, and photographs and paintings that reference the station’s iconic imagery.
- New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex Grand Central Terminal, E 42nd St, between Lexington and Vanderbilt Aves
- Fri May 24 - Sun Jul 7
"The Park: Paintings by Erik Benson"
- Critics choice
- Free
Artist Erik Benson cuts and rearranges dried acrylic paint to craft landscapes that depict playgrounds, jungle gyms and slides devoid of people.
- Arsenal Gallery in Central Park 830 Fifth Ave, at 64th St, third floor
- Fri May 24 - Thu Jun 20
"Design(in) the New Heart of New York"
- Critics choice
- Free
Hudson Yards, the 26-acre redevelopment effort currently reshaping Manhattan's West Side, is the subject of this exhibit, which features a behind-the-scenes look at the project's design and evolution.
- AIA Center for Architecture 536 La Guardia Pl, between Bleecker and W 3rd Sts
- Fri May 24 - Sat Jun 29
"Infinity of Nations: Art and History in the Collections of the National Museum of the American Indian"
- Critics choice
- Free
Presenting a diverse range of artistic output by natives of North, Central and South America, the permanent exhibition includes approximately 700 pieces spanning thousands of years. Tykes can gape at headdresses, 2,000-year-old duck decoys created by peoples in the Great Basin, elaborate masks from the Northwest Coast, and Olmec and Mayan carvings.
- National Museum of the American Indian Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, 1 Bowling Green, between State and Whitehall Sts
- Fri May 24 - Tue Dec 31
"From Bande Dessinée to Artist's Book: Testing the Limits of Franco-Belgian Comics"
- Critics choice
- Free
See the work of Franco-Belgian comic-book artists, more than 60 of whom are featured in this exhibition, and explore their important role in blurring the line between high-art tomes and kid-aimed flip books.
- Center for Book Arts 28 W 27th St, between Broadway and Sixth Ave, third floor
- Fri May 24 - Sat Jun 29
BLDG 92
- Critics choice
- Free
The visitors’ center at the former shipbuilding complex offers information on the facility and its connection to the surrounding neighborhoods. Plan an afternoon trip to check out its core exhibit, “Brooklyn Navy Yard: Past, Present and Future,” which examines the space’s historical significance and future plans. Weekend tours of the yard itself are available by bus and bike ($18–$30). A free weekend shuttle departs from Jay St at Willoughby St.
"Reflections on Rosie"
- Critics choice
- Free
BLDG 92 and the Brooklyn Historical Society look at the legacy of Rosie the Riveter and the changing role of women in the workplace during World War II. The exhibit collects oral histories from pathbreaking women who worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, as well as images from magazines of the time and the work of four female entrepreneurs who operate out of the hub today.
"100 Years of Flamenco in NYC"
- Free
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana present this exhibit in the Astor Gallery, featuring costumes, castanets, engravings and photographs. Screenings of rare documentary films, as well as seminars, lectures and performances, accompany the show, which was curated by scholars Ninotchka Bennahum and K. Meira Goldberg.
- New York Public Library for the Performing Arts 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, at 66th St
- Fri May 24 - Sat Aug 3
"RetroSpective"
- Free
As the pace of our nostalgia-addicted culture quickens (remember the '00s?), the museum takes the long view, gathering more than 100 garments, accessories and textiles to explore the relationship between pre-1700s fashions and recent reincarnations. From Alexander McQueen’s nod to 16th-century flair in his 1999 painted silk chiffon, to 1920s robe de style bringing back the pannier silhouette from the 18th century, the pieces highlight the innovations of historically conscious designers.
- The Museum at FIT Seventh Ave, at 27th St
- Fri May 24 - Sat Nov 16
